What do you want to be when you grow up?

From a young age, we’ve been given other people’s limits to wear on our heads like miner lights guiding us in one direction. It starts with the loaded question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” We get it from our parents, teachers, uncles. And they ask us with such passion and enthusiasm, we are pressured to answer immediately so we don’t let them down. An astronaut. A firefighter. A nurse. The President. We are allowed to pick one thing like it’s a choice for dinner. If we picked more than one, we got “but what do you really want to do?”

We don’t encourage our kids to say I want to do many things. I want to be a professional skateboarder. Write books. Travel the world. Be a yoga instructor. And adopt some kids.

Today, many of us struggle with our career path because we still believe this. We should be a successful __________ .

No you shouldn’t.

As a matter of fact, you should be pursuing many things. Splattering paint. Fueled by passion not outcomes. 92 octane. Then figure out how they all tie into each other to bring you joy and fulfillment, and ultimately security. It’s not about what you do. It’s about how you want to live your life, creating a unique existence that is custom to you and what makes you happy.